Trauma Center: Additions
by Dusk Decevier
Summary: After the strange collapse of St. Peter Hospital, Dr. Ieaeka Hakiru and Rose Brinks are transferred to Caduceus. A new virus, only affecting those below 35, symptoms resemble GUILT, which was defeated, right? Rated "M" for gory details and foul language
1. St Peters Hospital disaster

Chapter 1

"Good job, doctor." Said Nurse Angie Thompson as Dr. Derek Stiles washed up after a routine appendectomy. "I was worried for a minute there, with the ties snapping and all." Derek Stiles looked a little sheepish, he almost panicked when the tie broke and the patient started to hemorrhage, but he got his head on straight quickly and fixed the problem. It wasn't like him to panic, maybe he had been working too hard... "If you hadn't gotten that spare tie so fast, we may have been in trouble." He said, looking as his medical assistant. Her green eyes flashed as she smiled. "We'll have to send a memo to have our medical equipment checked out." She said, looking concerned. "We haven't had such a serious malfunction since that G.P.S.\Pacemaker the police made us install."

Derek flashed back to the incidents no more then a few weeks ago, concern crossing his features. The GUILT threat was effectivly eradicated, but that's what they thought three years ago... "Doctor?" Asked Angie. Derek started out of his haze, not realizing he had drifted off. "Ah, sorry Angie."

"Yo, Derek, Angie! Come 'ere!" Called Dr. Tyler Chase from the other room, his expression serious. Odd for someone like him. "You gotta see this!" Nurse Thompson and Doctor Stiles exchanged a look of confusion before following their college out into the break room where everyone was gathered around the television. To both Derek and Angie's surprise, even the normally recluse Victor Niguel was in the group. Having to push their way to see, Angie and Derek reached the television, where disastrous events were unfolding.

_"It's a madhouse down here, hospital patients are being wheeled off en-mass on anything and everything after part of the St. Peters hospital collapsed due to a hidden sinkhole recently discovered under the hospital's foundation."_

Angie couldn't help but gasp in horror, Derek's expression hardened in concern for those on the screen. They continued watching in silence.

_"Only discovered after several unexplainable tremors shook the building, authorities did not have enough time to stage a proper evacuation and get patients hospital admissions in other locations. Now, in the wake of this horrible disaster, the sick and injured are being transferred off to quickly erected medical tents several miles away until the victims can be properly taken care of. ... Hold on, this just in, it turns out that there are several hundred survivors from the initial collapse, now trapped inside the crater. Rescue teams are going to attempt to rescue as many as possible while trying to brace the underground foundation in an attempt to keep the rest of the facility from dropping."_

"This is horrible!" Cried Angie. "All those people..." Derek looked at Dr. Chase. "Do you know where that is?" The blond doctor took a second to register the question. "Oh! Yea, somewhere in Mississippi." He replied. "Horrible, isn't it? After this, they're probably going to have all facilities checked out."

"Yea..." Dr. Stiles muttered. Something didn't seem right. It was a hospital, one of that size would have fallen to a sink hole years earlier, but the signs of it only recently sprung up...

"You feel it too, huh?" Asked Victor, spooking Derek, hurling him from his thoughts. "Feel what?" He asked. Victor looked a little irritated. "The sinkhole, you buffoon." Derek nodded. "Yea, it just doesn't add up." Victor let out a sigh. "Well, as much as it may pain you guys, there's nothing we can do all they way over here. We might as well get back to work."

The others, in silent agreement, scattered in several directions, only Angie and Derek remaining. "It's just so terrible." Muttered Dr Stile's assistant. "All those people."

"At least it was a confined incident, and not something like a GUILT outbreak." Said Derek, knowing he sounded cold, but the logic was sound. Hurt, but understanding, Angie agreed. "Yea." She muttered. "I guess we should get back to work, you still have some charts to finish, don't you?"

"Uhh, well...You see...." Stammered Derek. Angie gave him her trademark "Get to work" look. Getting the message, Dr. Stiles scurried off.

_**-One month later-**_

"A new surgeon?" Asked Dr. Chase in surprise. Everyone else was gathered in the meeting room, Angie, Dr. Clark, Derek, Victor, Leslie, Dr. Chase, and several other doctors and nurses were sitting around the giant table. Executive Director Robert Hoffman and Director Sidney Kasal were at the head of the large piece of furniture. "Two, actually. Both transfers from the recently condemned St. Peter's Hospital." Corrected Director Kasal. "One of them is a renowned Surgeon Dr. Ieaeka Hakiru. She was supposed to be the only one, but by request, her apprentice, Dr. Rose Brinks, will be joining her here. If they prove to be of the right caliber, they will be hired on permanently."

Tyler Chase's excitement was visible on his face. "Two new surgeons. Both women, too!" He said. Derek rolled his eyes. Of course, that's Dr. Chase for you.

"Won't they be needing medical assistants?" Angie chimed in. "It's always seemed to be a standing thing that all Caduceus doctors had their own assistants." Derek never noticed before, but she was right, Dr. Chase had Leslie, He had Angie, and all the others had a personal assistant of some kind.

Directors Kasal and Hoffman both nodded. "Your correct. Nurse Tompson." Said Sidney. "We'll worry about that later, but thank you for bringing it up, because in the meantime, Dr. Stiles and Dr. Chase will have to share their assistants."

THAT was unexpected. Derek and Tyler exchanged a look of shock, Leslie and Angie both looked surprised as well. "Nurse Thompson will be assisting Dr. Hakiru, Leslie will be helping Dr. Brinks." Said the executive director. "I hope there are no objections?"

No one spoke up, although Angie was a little apprehensive. It wasn't until well after the meeting adjourned that Angie had come to terms with the sudden assignment, and actually seemed quite excited. "It'll be nice to have more women around here. Especially surgeons." She said. Derek was a little upset at having to share Angie, but he realized that was completely ridiculous and discarded that train of thought only to have it re-rail. His irritation must have been visible, because Angie seemed to notice. "Is something wrong, doctor?" She asked, concerned.

"No, I'm fine." He assured. Angie got a sly look on her face. "Your nervous that if these surgeons are _too_ good, you may be out of a job, huh?" She teased. Derek replied without thinking, and instantly turned red. "No, I'm worried about being out of an assistant."

Derek and Angie looked at each other for a few moments, then Angie grinned. "You old goof! Like I'd ever ditch you! What would you do without me!? You'd never get anything done!" She said, laughing. Derek was able to relax a little at Angie's calm reaction.

"Do you know when they'll be arriving?" Asked the sandy haired surgeon. "I kinda missed that bit." Angie's green eyes lit up as she laughed at him. "Case and point, Dr. Stiles." She teased again, using his formal name. "They begin working tomorrow morning. They already have a surgery lined up that you have to supervise, or did you miss that too?" Derek smiled nervously. "Y-yea...I did..." He said.

"Oh, you scatterbrain!" Exclaimed Angie, throwing her hands up in defeat, a large grin on her face as she tried not to laugh.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Well, this WAS 1,300 words before I added the author note, which was 100% unintentional, but still awesome. (I had to do some editing, so that 1,300 word count went out the window. ;_; ) Anyway, I just finished playing the game when I decided to write this. I prefer writing original work, but fan fictions are good practice, 'cause a lot of the information is already there, you just gotta fill in the blanks.**

**Anyway, I read a few Trauma center fan fictions before writing this, to get a better grasp on other people's views of the characters and to pick up some tips of my own.**

**Anyway, Ieaeka Hakiru has been a personal character of mine for a couple years now, Rose only recently came out of the woodwork, so she'll be a little less developed then her predecessor.**

**I would enjoy ratings and PMs with advice, "Did you knows", story ideas, or even words of encouragement, as long as your not rude about it. I'm always willing to expand my knowledge and writing ability. I hope lots of people read this and get some time from their day to dissolve into my fictional world.**

**I won't have an updating schedule, so the chapters will be sporadic, so check in often!**

**That's all, Dusk, OUT.**


	2. Albino Doctor?

Chapter 2

"Angie, you really need to settle down." Said Derek as he watched his assistant pace back and forth by the main entrance, awaiting the arrival of their new co-workers.

"I would if I could, but I'm just so excited!" Said Angie as she turned around to look out the glass doors for the umpteenth time. Derek let out a chuckle and glanced over himself, knowing full well none of them were given a description of the new arrivals, so Angie had no clue what she was looking for. "Derek!" Cried Angie, pointing outside. Looking in that direction, Dr. Stiles was greeted with a young albino woman walking inside the hospital, a large sunhat that could have been mistaken for an over sized sombrero adorning her head.

Once the woman was inside, she removed her headgear to give everyone full view of her features. Bright red eyes and stark white hair, she was very pale but seemed to have a strength about her. "Excuse me?" She said, addressing Derek. Her voice was soft, but had a confident ring in it. "Are you Derek Stiles?" Derek smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, do you need something?"

"Yes. My name is Rose Brinks." She answered, her gaze unwavering. Both Angie and Derek couldn't hide their surprise. "My mentor will be here shortly, she insisted I get out of the sun because I burn easy." Derek nodded.

"Please forgive me for my reaction. I wasn't expecting an......" Derek started, he didn't know how to finish without sounding insulting.

"Albino? Just say it doctor." Rose stated calmly. "It's alright, I understand. I was almost force to give up on being a doctor because no hospital would hire an albino. Dr. Hakiru saw my potential and convinced the board to let St. Peter's hire me." Angie was smiling like a goof, overjoyed to finally meet one of the new doctors. Derek realized her smile must have been contagious, because he was smiling too.

"Now what's so smile worthy? Did Rose manage to tell a good joke for once?" Called a voice. Looking over, Angie and Derek saw another young woman approaching, a large rolling bag being drug behind her. She had pitch black hair and deep blue eyes, her walk measured but confidant.

"I take it your Dr. Hakiru?" Asked Derek. Ieaeka nodded. "You take correct. I see you've already met dear Rose. I assume your Dr. Stiles and Nurse Tompson?" Angie nodded, still grinning as Derek let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head like he always did when nervous. "You all know me, but I didn't have a clue what you two looked like."

"Your reputation precedes you, Doctor." Said Miss Brinks. "How were we _not _to know what the hero against GUILT looked like? There was a whole seminar dedicated to how you work."

"Don't praise him too much, or he'll get all premadonna on us." Said Angie in a teasing tone. Derek was a little hurt. "That's not nice..."

"But true." Said Nurse Tompson, grinning again. "Oh! I'm so happy to finally meet you!" The St. Peters doctor smiled, looking at her albino apprentice. "Likewise." She said. "Could you bring us to Director Kasal?"

"Of course. This way." Said Derek, walking towards the elevator.

* * *

Angie couldn't help but notice how much like a ghost Dr. Brinks looked in her white scrubs. Angie watched as Rose adorned her face with some kind of goggle. Noticing Angie's scrutiny, she nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm far-sighted. I can function without glasses, but I wear these prescription goggles when I operate to help me see better." She explained, her voice as soft as ever. Angie let out a small exhale of understanding as Dr. Stiles and Dr. Hakiru arrived. "Dr. Chase and Nurse Sears won't be joining us, an emergency patient came in." Derek explained. Rose and Angie nodded and prepared for the patient to arrive.

"Nurse Tompson, would you start with the briefing?" Asked Ieaeka Hakiru as she was assisting in adorning her gloves by a scrub nurse.

"Of course. We'll be operating on a 36 year old Caucasian female named Sarah Rogers. She accidentally swallowed her house key and we need to extract it." Ieaeka's grin was visible, even under her mask. "How does one manage to do that?" She mused aloud. "Please continue, Miss Tompson."

"We can't pump her stomach because the key may lodge in her esophagus and cause further damage. We only have one objective: Remove the key." Continued Angie. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Said Ieaeka, picking up the antibiotic gel to sanitize the incision site. "You want to do the honors, Rose?"

"Very well..." Said Rose, picking up the scalpel and making a straight incision. Blood spurted up and splashed on her white scrubs, but she didn't seem to notice. She injected a stabilizer and carefully opened up the patent's stomach. "Drain." Said Rose shortly. Angie picked up the drain and brought it over to the operating table. "Catch any excess fluids as the come out." Instructed Dr. Brinks as she sat down her scalpel. "Forceps." Dr. Hakiru handed her apprentice the forceps and Rose carefully prodded around the patent's insides, excess blood and body fluids quickly removes via the pump that was operated by Angie. After a few minutes, Rose let out a small sigh. "It must have moved since the X-ray. I need the ultrasound."

Derek watched in silence. The albino surgeon was talented, she knew what she had to do and what she needed. She still needed training, but she was on the road to success. Dr. Hakiru wheeled she ultrasound over to the operating table and proceeded to search for the key. "There." She said. "It's just at the entrance of the GI tract. Hold her open. I'll get it." Ieaeka was already putting words to action, grabbing a pair of forceps and carefully inspecting the patient. "Nurse, you need to move the pump for a second. wait for my signal, then move it. I'll grab the key and as soon as I'm clear, bring the pump back." She instructed. "...Now."

Angie pulled the pump away as Ieaeka carefully but quickly brought the forceps into the patient and grabbed the key. She had to wiggle it gently to free it, but after a moment, she brought out the forceps to reveal a bright pink house key covered in blood and other body fluids. Angie quickly brought the pump back and sucked up the spilt fluids. "I'm closing her up." Said Ieaeka as Rose handed her the sutures. Ieaeka threaded the suture through the stomach and closed it tightly. "Hand me the dissolving bandage." Angie sat down she pump and handed the bandage to Ieaeka, who placed it on the organ. "That should hold long enough for her to heal. Let's close her up."

* * *

"I don't see any problem with Ieaeka and Rose working without supervision." Said Derek, sitting in Director Hoffman's office. "They both exhibited great skill and knew exactly what to do and how to do it.

"Very well. Thank you for you time, Derek." Said Robert Hoffman. "You may leave." Derek stood and, with a nod of acknowledgment, left the Director's office.

* * *

**A.N.**

**I enjoyed writing this part of the story. First off, it was my first time writing a surgery, and I pulled the "Albino Doctor" thing out of my rear the night before. I'm quite happy with how this is going.**

**I do apologise for the shorter chapter this time around. After the surgery, I kinda didn't know where to go, so I just ended it there. I also hit a block on what kind of surgery they would be doing that would be scheduled, and thinking back to a fan-fic I read where Dr. Stiles gets a ring lodged in his throat, I decided, "Why not some numb nuts who swallowed a house key?" And boom, I had my surgery.**

**Anyway, see you next chapter. Tootles.**


	3. Office Party

Chapter 3

-**Two Months Later-**

"I absolutely refuse."

"Come on, Victor! Please?!"

"No!"

Angie puffed out her cheeks in agitation. Everyone but Victor was game for her little idea. "What, are you allergic to fun or something?" She snapped.

"No, I'm allergic to not working. Now BUG OFF." Victor retorted back, slamming the door to his lab shut. Angie wasn't going to be blown off so easily. Rapping against the door, Angie started yelling to her irritable co-worker. "_Vvvvviiicccttttooorrrr_!!!" She wailed. "Open up! It's just this once!"

"FINE." Yelled Victor, opening the door and almost hitting Angie. "I'll go along with your stupid little party." Angie's face lit up. "Yay!" She said, skipping off to tell the others. Smoke practically coming out of his ears, Victor closed the door to his lab and got back to work.

* * *

"I got him to do it!" Said Angie, skipping around. Derek tried not to laugh at his assistant's hyperactive behavior. "So, how are we doing this?" Angie stopped skipping long enough to explain. "Ok, as you know, Director Hoffman has agreed to hire on Ieaeka and Rose permanently, so we're going to break the news to them with a party here in the break room!" She said, already fidgeting from lack of movement. "We'll decorate while they're in surgery. When they come here afterwards, we all hop out and surprise them!" Dr. Chase couldn't help but start laughing. "What _I_ want to know is how you managed to get Victor to agree to this!" Asked Dr. Chase. "He hates parties!"

"Patience, determination, and a lot of pestering." Angie said seriously, then broke out in a grin. "I have to assist in another surgery, so I'm depending on you guys to get set up. Alright?" The others nodded and went on their way, Dr. Chase knelt by a cabinet to make sure the decorations were hidden properly. Afterwards, only Angie and Derek remained. "You've gotten close to them, haven't you?" Asked the surgeon.

"Of course. They're a part of Caduceus now, we _have _to celebrate! And anyway, I think Dr. Niguel and Dr. Brinks get along well together." Said Angie, lightly elbowing Derek in the ribs in a 'Hint, hint' fashion.

"Angie!" Exclaimed Derek, trying not to laugh. "I don't think Dr. Niguel even knows what a woman _is_." Angie had a serious expression on her face. For all of two seconds before she burst out laughing followed by Derek.

* * *

Dr. Ieaeka Hakiru was finishing closing the patient when her apprentice spoke up. "Doctor?" She asked. "Is it just me, or has the others been acting strange today?"

"I think it's just your imagination." Answered Ieaeka, signaling for a nurse to wheel the patient out as she pulled off her gloves and proceeded to wash up, blood and pus covering her scrubs. Rose followed suit, still not convinced. "I don't know..." She muttered. "I really think something is up."

"Well, we'll ask them when we reach the break room, if it'll make you feel better." Said Ieaeka, stripping off her dirty scrubs to reveal her work clothes underneath. Rose scoffed a little. "If something was up, they wouldn't tell us." She said.

"You'll never know, now will you, Rose?" Replied the senior surgeon, waiting for her co-worker to finish. Rose stepped up next to her mentor and sighed. "I guess your right. Let's go."

* * *

"Who's bright idea was it to turn off the lights?" Derek heard Ieaeka say, shuffling around for the light switch. Glancing over to his left, he saw the none-too-happy Victor Niguel crouched next to him. Surprisingly, he didn't seem ready to rip someone's face off like he normally did.

Before he could ponder this any further, the light turned on, that's their cue. As one, everyone in the break room jumped up and yelled "SURPRISE!", scaring Rose so bad she fell over and would have hit the floor had Angie not caught her.

"I told you something was up." Said Rose simply to her mentor, which made Dr. Hakiru erupt into gales of laughter. "What's all this about?" She asked once she was able to form a coherent sentence, wiping at her eyes, a small giggle slipping free every now and then.

"You could call it a celebration." Dr. Chase said cryptically. Ieaeka got that: "I know that" expression on her face. Angie couldn't hold in it in any longer. "Congratulations! Your officially members of Caduceus! Director Hoffman signed the paper this morning, making your permanent employment official." She cried, almost tackling Ieaeka to the ground in an over-exuberant hug.

"All this, for us?" Asked Rose quietly. Derek nodded. "Of course. Your part of the Caduceus family know. We even managed to get Victor out of his lab long enough to join us." Rose actually got a little color in her white cheeks for a short moment, so short, in fact, Derek wasn't sure he saw it at all.  
"I got BEER!" Yelled Dr. Chase, holding up a couple cold six-packs.

"How did you even get that in here?" Cried Angie. "We're on duty!" Tyler looked a little hurt. "What's a party without booze?" Rose let out a small laugh. "My kind of party." She said, her voice scarcely heard over the ruckus. Victor heard her, though. "Here, here." He said in agreement as he watched Angie reprimand Tyler and confiscate the alcohol. When Angie left the room, he reached into his lab coat pocket, pulled out a can of beer, popped it open and took a swig, causing everyone in the room to laugh.

* * *

It took all of Angie's willpower not to giggle as she stuffed the six packs back in the fridge. As she stood up and closed the fridge, she felt an all to familiar tickle at the back of her throat. She had the urge to cough. "Lovely." She said sarcastic to herself, getting a glass of water and downing it in two gulps. Dropping the plastic cup in the sink, she hurried back into the break room to join the others.

**

* * *

**

-Two days later-

"Has anyone seen Angie?" Asked Dr. Hakiru. "I need her for a surgery this afternoon." Derek Stiles looked up from his mountain of paper work. "She called off sick today." He said. "Of all the days I actually feel productive, she's not here to see me actually doing my paper work." Ieaeka grinned a little, thanked Derek, and left.

* * *

"Dr. Niguel?" Asked a soft voice outside of Victor's lab. He immediately identified the person as Dr. Rose Brinks. "What?" Snapped Victor, wishing he hadn't. It had grown to be a habit.

"I have something I'd like you to examine for me." She said from outside the door. "If this is a bad time..." Standing up, Victor opened the door. "No, it's fine. What is it?" He asked, looking at his albino co-worker.

"I had to do an emergency tonsillectomy on a 18 year old male yesterday, but something was bugging me." She explained. "I don't know what, but I obtained some tissue samples from the patient and the tonsils. Could you look into it for me? It's probably an unfounded concern, but I never got to where I am today by ignoring these feelings." Rose held out a small foam container with 'BIOHAZARD' on the lid. Victor took the package and nodded. "I'll look into it." He said. "Is that everything?"

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Niguel."

* * *

**A.N.**

**I enjoyed writing this chapter, not only getting to bug Victor, which is actually becoming my favorite character(When did THIS happen?!) but be able to write the guys loosening up, even just a little bit. Since they WERE on duty and all, I couldn't do a drunken party games scene, but I'll get around to it.**

**Mwee-hee-hee-hee-hee.**

**I really don't know why, but every time I imagine Rose, I keep picturing her as at least two feet shorter then everyone else, even though she stands about 5 feet 6 inches tall.**


	4. Sick Nurse

Chapter 4

Angela Thompson wanted to die. It had started out harmless enough, an annoying little cough that stuck with her for a day and a half. It had suddenly progressed into a gut wracking cough that threatened to make her cough up a lung. Then she got the shakes and chills, and by that morning, was praying to the porcelain god. She only had enough energy to grab her cell phone and send a message to Director Hoffman, telling him she was going to be out sick that day. She didn't really have any concept of time, but several hours, or was it several minutes, after she managed to lay down in her bed, she heard her phone go off. She drug herself to the side of the bed and grabbed the phone. It was Derek. She pressed send and put the phone to her ear. "H-Hello? Derek?" She answered, her voice as quiet as Rose's.

"_Angie? Man, you sound horrible. I'm almost done with my shift, do you want me to come by?_" Asked Derek, his voice small in the receiver. As much as the concept of him visiting her appealed, she knew better. "You'd best not. I don't know what I have, but I don't want to give it to you..." She managed to get out. The room was starting to spin. _"Are you sure?"_ Before Angie could answer, she got that tell-tale lurch in her head that told her she needed to make a visit to the temple. Dropping the phone and holding her mouth, Angie made a beeline for the bathroom.

* * *

"Angie? Angie!" Called Derek over the phone. "Angie! Are you alright?" Derek was torn. He wanted to rush to her side, but didn't want to hang up the phone in case she came back.

"Dr. Stiles?" Derek turned his head to see a concerned looking Dr. Hakiru. "Is something wrong?" Derek considered not telling her for a moment, but then realized it was his best course of action. "You just got off duty, right?" He asked.

"Yes." Answered Ieaeka. "Do you need something?" Derek thought he heard something on the phone, but realized it was his imagination. "Yes. I need you to go check on Angie. I'd do it myself, but I don't want to hang up in case she comes back." He said. "Would you?"

"Of course." Said the raven haired doctor. "I'd be happy too." Derek smiled. "Thanks, I owe you one." He said. "She keeps a spare house key in the gutter above her door." Ieaeka gave Derek a small salute as she turned and walked towards the main entrance, grabbing her coat as she passed the coat rack.

* * *

"You called for me, Dr. Niguel?" Asked Rose, standing at the door to Victor's lab. "Yea." Called Victor. "Come here and look at this." Rose approached the lab bench where Victor was sitting, closing the door behind her. "What is it?" she asked, leaning in.

"That tissue sample you brought me a couple days ago, I've been working with it nonstop, and your hunch was right, this isn't any bacteria I've seen before." Said Victor, allowing Rose to look in through the microscope. "What are they, then?" She asked.

"Hell if I know!" Dr. Niguel yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "But I'm getting to the bottom of this. Did that patient of yous tell you want he went through before he was hospitalized?" Rose looked up from the microscope. "Yea." She replied. "He said it started out as a small cough, but it didn't go away and turned into strep throat. He was given some antibiotics for it but it didn't go away. He came in shortly after he ran out of medicine. Apparently, those antibiotics were the only things keeping his tonsils from swelling to the point it constricted his airway. I had to do an emergency surgery before they swelled to the point he'd suffocate. He's still in the hospital, if you want to talk to him."

"Nah. I got what I needed." Dr. Niguel said, running a strand of his hair between his forefinger and thumb as he turned over the puzzle in his mind. "Maybe we should quarantine everyone who's been around him...Strep throat is contagious to begin with, if the antibiotics weren't working properly..."

"I'll contact his family immediately." Said Rose, who turned on her heel and silently slipped out of Victor's lab, the only sign of her passage was the door closing behind her and the light breeze she evoked by her movement.

* * *

"Angie? Sweetie? Are you here?" Called Ieaeka, stepping into Angie's apartment. It was clean and orderly, but Angie was no where to bee seen. "Angie? ...Angela?" Ieaeka walked farther into the building, looking around. Ieaeka only spotted Angie's foot, but it was all it took. Poking her head into the bathroom, she saw Angie had fallen asleep by the toilet, her vomit still floating in the bowl. Quietly walking up to Angie, she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped Angie's face off, which was drenched with sweat. Placing the cloth on the bathroom counter, Ieaeka picked up Angie and carried her to her bed, tucking her in. Improvising a vomit bucket, Ieaeka sat it next to Angie's bed and went into the bathroom to take care of the ejected bodily fluid. Only then did Ieaeka spot something odd. Obviously the green liquid was stomach acid, the yellow was more than likely cartilage or mucus, but what was that blueish purple stuff? Kneeling down to inspect it, Ieaeka nearly jumped out of her skirt when she heard the apartment phone go off. Walking out of the bathroom she answered it. "Hello?"

"_Hello? Ieaeka? Is Angie ok?_" Asked Derek Stiles, seeming upset. Ieaeka let out a soft laugh. "Yes, she's fine. She apparently needed to vomit and fell asleep by the toilet. I've washed her up and put her to bed. I'm going to stick around and take care of her. Also, could you have someone bring my lab case?" Derek's confusion was audible over the phone. "Why do you need that?" He asked.

"Humor me, would you please?" Asked Ieaeka, hearing Angie stir in the other room. "It's by my desk, Rose will know where it is. I got to go. Call my cell if you need me." Ieaeka hung up the phone and walked over to Angie's bedroom and poked her head in, Angie's eyes were open, but Ieaeka doubted she was completely awake. "Hey sleeping beauty." Said Ieaeka softly. "You scared Derek out of his wits when you took off like that." Ieaeka heard Angie mutter a garbled apologize and shifted a little in the bed. Walking up and putting her hand to Angie's forehead, Ieaeka held in a small gasp. She was burning up.

Ieaeka was in the middle of looking for a cold compress when she heard a knock on the door. Hurrying to open it, Ieaeka saw that none other then Derek Stiles had delivered her case. "Aren't you on duty?"

"I convinced Dr. Chase to take over for me for a little bit." Derek explained, handing Dr. Hakiru her lab case. "How is she?" Ieaeka sat the case on the counter. "Incoherent, running a fever, and look in the toilet."

"Do I want to?" Joked Derek, even as she stepped into the room. "Wait...What's that blue stuff? Is that why you wanted the lab case?"

"Yep. I wanted to gather samples. Find a cold compress for Angie, would you? I couldn't find them." Requested Ieaeka as she rifled through her case. Syringes, sutures, bandages, medicines, and some lab equipment filled the case. Derek opened the freezer and reached into the very back and pulled out a compress. "Oh now _that _is a load of bullshit." Said Ieaeka. Derek laughed nervously. "She does that, says it seems to make them colder, so she buries them in the freezers."

"Well, put it on after you take her temperature." Ieaeka instructed, handing Derek an ear thermometer. "I'm going to take samples of that blue gunk in her ejection. I want you to take it back and have Dr. Niguel take a look at it." Derek sat the cold compress on Angie's nightstand as he took her temperature. 99o F. "She has a fever alright." Derek announced as he placed the compress on Angie's forehead. She didn't stir.

"Ugh, this is disgusting." Said Ieaeka, retrieving some samples from the toilet bowl. "And this is coming from a _surgeon_." Derek laughed a little at his fellow surgeon's plight. "We all have the right to be a little grossed out every now and then." Ieaeka made a face as she closed the lid on the last sample and placed them in individual bags. "Here, take these back to Caduceus, make it quick, I don't know how long it'll have viable DNA, that's Vic's department."

"Vic?" Laughed Derek as he took the bags. "He'd box your ears if he heard that one." Ieaeka smiled. "I know." She grinned. "Now get going, or do I have to kick you out?"

* * *

**A.N.**

**The "Vic" thing came out of nowhere. I was just typing and my brother walked in while I was working. I tend to get oblivious when I'm into my work, so he caught me halfway through spelling "Victor", scaring the bejebbus out of me. I though it looked cool so I ran with it.**

**I was sitting at my desk thinking, "What color would you not find in vomit?" I have to say, that is by far the strangest train of thought I'd EVER had in my LIFE, and the sad part was, I was STUMPED.  
It wasn't until I glanced over and saw the lid to a pill sorter I had on my desk, when it hit me. BLUE. Boy did I feel dumb. -_-'**

**A.N. pt 2**

**I forgot to mention this before, but for those who couldn't figure it out, "praying to the porcelain god" Is a fancy way of saying "puking in the toilet"  
When I said "Return to the temple" I think anyone with at least one brain cell will get it.**


	5. Epidemic

Chapter 5

"Hey, Victor. I have some samples Dr. Hakiru wants you to look at." Said Derek, stepping into Dr. Niguel's office. "They're from Angie." The scientist snatched the bags from Derek and held them up to the light. His irritated expression turned into one of scientific confusion as he continued to look at them. Forgetting Derek's existence entirely, Dr. Victor Niguel turned to his lab bench and got to work.

Stepping out of the lab, Derek saw Dr. Brinks on the phone, looking concerned. Knowing better, but not really caring at the moment, he moved a little closer to listen.

"100 degrees? Has she vomited at all? What about diarrhea?" She asked into the phone, in front of her was a notepad, which Dr. Stiles leaned over to read. His eyes bulged when he saw what it said.  
_~Fever of 100 degrees F.  
__~Blueish colored vomit  
__~Incoherency  
__~Abdominal pain  
__~Severe cough  
__~Blood in stools  
__~Bloodshot Eyes_

Now that he thought about it, Angie did have a cough the last couple days. What if it was the same thing...

"Yes, thank you. If he gets worse, bring him to the ER. Goodbye." Rose hung up the phone and noticed Derek. "How was Angie?" She asked, concern over her features.

"Not too good. She has a high fever and..." Derek pointed to the second thing on Rose's list. It was Rose's turn to have her eyes bug out. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking _really _concerned now. Derek sighed. "Yea, that's why Ieaeka wanted her lab case. She wanted to take samples. I just turned them over to Victor, we should have results in no-time."

* * *

"Ugh, what?" Angie muttered, blinking her eyes clear them as she looked around. The last thing she could remember was being in the bathroom. She must have fallen asleep, but how did she get here? A voice from the doorway answered that question. "Hey there sleepyhead. Feeling better?" It took a moment, but Angie was able to sit up enough to see that Ieaeka was there with her. "When did you...?"

"You were on the phone with Derek, you must have ran off the vomit and fallen asleep where you fell. You scared ten years off the poor guy." Answered Ieaeka. "He didn't want to hang up, in case you came back, so I came here to check on you. Found you out cold in the bathroom." Angie let out a small grunt of understanding. "How long have I been out?" She asked.

"About 6 hours. Derek wanted to come and take care of you, but I have a day off tomorrow so I told him to go rest. He has to work in the morning. Are you thirsty?" Angie couldn't vocally answer so she nodded, a warm feeling inside that Derek wanted to take care of her. Ieaeka stood and stepped out of the room, taking the warm cold compress to swap it out for a cold one. Suddenly, Angie felt very cold, and curled up in bed, trying to get warm, shivering violently. The dim room grew darker, and faded to black.

* * *

"Here you go Angie." Said Ieaeka, walking in with a glass of water and a fresh compress. Setting the two items down, Ieaeka felt Angie's forehead again. She was warmer then before. Grabbing the thermometer, she put it to Angie's ear and took her temperature. 101o F.  
"SHIT."

* * *

Rose was dosing in the break room where Leslie was channel flipping. It was quiet, even though it was their night for emergency patients.

Rose had finally fallen asleep when Dr. Niguel came bursting out of his lab, making Leslie drop the remote and Rose do a back flip to the other side of the couch, falling with a thud. "I got it!" He cried, oblivious. "The bacteria that was infecting that one patient you operated on is in the samples from Angie!"

"Hell of a wake up call." Rose muttered, getting up and rubbing her head. "Are you saying they have the same thing? Why Angie? She was never near the patient. If anyone, it should have been Leslie or I."

"Like I know, but whatever it is, it seems dangerous." Said Victor, waving the results around in the air, forcing Leslie to grab them like she would swatting a fly in the air. "Maybe we should have her hospitalized."

"Dr. Hakiru's way ahead of you, Victor." Said Dr. Derek Stiles, walking in while pulling on his medical jacket. "I just got a call from her. She's bringing Angie here. Her fever peaked to 101 degrees." Rose, Victor, and Leslie all exchanged a three way look in surprise. "Let me help you, Dr. Stiles." Said Leslie Sears, stepping forward. Victor and Rose exchanged a personal look and nodded to each other. "We'll help too." Said Victor. "I want a closer look at whatever this is."

* * *

The gurney was waiting for them as Ieaeka pulled her car up to the ER. They pulled Angie out of the back seat and wheeled her inside, Dr. Hakiru in their wake, tossing her car keys to a random valet.

Ieaeka met Doctors Stiles and Niguel in the ER, with Nurse Sears right behind them. "Is she alright?" Asked Dr. Stiles, concern swamping his features to the point that Ieaeka wouldn't have been surprised if he started to cry.

"Don't worry, Dr." Said Ieaeka, putting a hand on her co-worker's shoulder. "She's fine for the moment. Dr. Niguel. Did you get anything from the sample?"

"Yeah. Apparently, Dr. Brinks operated on a man infected with the same kind of bacteria." Said Victor. Rose chimed in. "His tonsils had swollen so much I had to extract them. He started out with a cough like Angie, which turned into strep. He was given medicine, but all it did was keep the swelling down enough so he could breath." Rose's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as she seemed to realize something. "I didn't think anything of it before... I figured it was something he had eaten, but I remember there being something blue in his vomit, like Angie, and another patient with a similar occurrence..." Victor let out a small growl. "Are you saying this could be an epidemic?"

"We have to consider the possibility." Said Derek. "But right now, Angie needs us, so lets worry about this later."

"I'll go check on her." Said Leslie, hurrying into the ER.

"We should prep for surgery." Said Ieaeka. "Just in case." Derek didn't like the implications, but he knew she was right. "Ok. I'll be right back." He said, walking away to prep as Victor and Rose already had. _I'm not going to lose you, Angie.

* * *

_

**A.N.**

**I swear to the lord above I was about to smash my keyboard. My keyboard is 100% American, so that means it doesn't have a degree key, so I had to improvise with a scaled down "o", which didn't show on the site version.**

**This chapter gave me a little trouble, since Victor's and Angie's relationship was never clearly defined. I figured he cared in a friend kind of way, but I didn't think it went any farther then that. I really don't know.**

**This is the first chapter where the foul language really starts to show. I had put the reasons for the mature rating before I even finished the first chapter, and I realized that I hadn't included any swears. Not that I went out of my way, since the only person in Trauma Center who strike me as the cursing type is Victor Niguel.**

**I had something else to say, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was.  
Knowing my luck, I'll remember at the least oppe-NOW I REMEMBER.**

**I wanted to complain about the lack of tab and all the annoying double spacing.  
I'm an English major for Pete's sakes. I NEED TO INDENT.  
*Blarg***


	6. Like GUILT?

Chapter 6

"Derek..._Derek_. DR. STILES." Derek woke up with a start to find someone was shaking his shoulder. Looking up, Dr. Victor Niguel was there, looking as irritable as ever. "I know your worried, but your needed elsewhere." He said, crossing his arms. "And I need to take blood samples, so shoo." Not wanting to leave Angie's side, but knowing he was going to have to, Derek Stiles stood and shuffled out of Angie's hospital room.

Victor let out a buff of air and turned to Angie's sleeping form. He remembered what had happened in the ER as he proceeded to draw some blood. Angie's temperature was at 102 degrees before they were able to get it to drop, and it was only thanks to Dr. Brink's quick thinking. Derek was a mess, exhausted, damn near mentally spent, and a nervous wreck due to Angie's condition. After she was stabilized and admitted, Derek hadn't left her side. Three days had passed, and Angie was still asleep. Stable, but asleep.

Victor wasn't any better, he hadn't slept in his own bed is that span of time either, spending every waking hour trying to figure out what the hell is was infecting these people. In that time span, 12 more people showing the same symptoms were admitted. Curiously, none of them were above the age of 35...

"Dr. Niguel?" Spooked, then feeling stupid for being snuck up on, he turned around to see Dr. Brinks standing at the doorway. "It seems we decided to visit at the same time." She said, walking towards Victor and Angie. Dr. Niguel finished drawing his samples and pushed the cart away carefully. "What are you doing here?" He asked. A small smile touched the corners of Rose's lips, an odd thing for her. "I came to check her vitals, I assume you were here for blood samples." She said, gesturing towards the cart. "I saw Dr. Stiles on my way here, it doesn't look like he's slept in days... Neither do you." Dammit, was he really _that_ easy to read?! "This isn't the first time." Victor said simply, wheeling the cart out of Angie's room.

Dr. Brinks was quite aware of Dr. Niguel's habitual all-nighters, and was just as worried for _his_ health as that of Angie's. Sighing, Rose turned around and began taking Angie's vitals. Just as she finished, Dr. Brinks almost let out a squeal of fright when Angie started to talk in her sleep. Taking a breath to slow her own heart, Rose leaned over, trying to listen.

"Please...Help me." Angie muttered, tossing a little in her hospital bed. She was torn, she desperately wanted to wake Angie to break her from her nightmare, but didn't know if it would be a good idea in her current state. Angie ceased talking and fell still once more.

* * *

Tyler Chase was concerned for his friend who walked into the break room, sat down on the couch, and had instantly fallen asleep. The dark rings under his eyes visible, and the fatigue evident.

"If this keeps up, we might have to ask Dr. Hoffman to make Derek take a day or so off..." Leslie mused from behind Dr. Chase. "I have to agree." He replied, looking away from his friend to rest his gaze on his teal haired assistant. "I'm scared for her too, but running ourselves into ground isn't going to help her..." Leslie nodded as Dr. Hakiru stepped into the room, immediately noticing the sleeping surgeon and treading softly. "All of the patients undergoing the same symptoms as Angie have all been comatose on some levels." She said, her voice just above a whisper. "Some are half awake, others wake for short periods of time only to fall back asleep, while many just won't wake. I just spoke to Rose, apparently Angie spoke in her sleep a little, but that was a close as she got to coherency. Anything on your end?" Tyler and Leslie shook their heads. "No." Replied the young nurse. "No changes, Victor just went into his lab with fresh blood samples from all the patients."

"Alright, I'll check in with him later, see if he found anything." Said Ieaeka. "Oh, one last thing, I don't know if you guys noticed or not, and it's probably just a coincidence, but none of the victims are above the age of 35." Tyler rested his head on his hand as he thought. "I noticed it too, I didn't think much about it though. Can this thing discriminate by age?" Closing her eyes in frustration, Ieaeka puzzled over the problem. "I don't think so. I think it's impossible."

"After the guilt outbreak, the term "impossible" left my vocabulary." Derek said calmly, standing from his seat and going to leave the room. "I'm going to keep an eye on Angie." With that, he closed the door behind him.

"At this rate, we may have to tranq' him." Joked Ieaeka, her attempt at humor not reaching her eyes. "But in all seriousness, I wish we knew what to do. It's scary, having the ability to heal, but not having the ability to do anything with it." Tyler nodded. "I have to agree with you there." He said. "I'm going to go check on Angie real quick, before I start my rounds." The two women nodded in acknowledgment as Dr. Chase left the break room.

* * *

Rose knocked lightly on the door, but there was no answer. Instead of knocking again, she grabbed the handle and opened the door quietly, peering in and confirming her suspicions. Silently closing the door to Dr. Niguel's lab behind her, she lightly stepped towards the sleeping Victor, grabbing the blanket from the couch as she passed it. Throwing the blanket on her co-worker, she couldn't help but notice what was on the screen. Something about the genetic pattern looked familiar. Pulling up a stool, Rose sat herself in front of the computer next to Victor and kept looking at the screen.

Her eyes widening in surprise, she saw something Victor hadn't seen. Reaching up and gently bringing the keyboard over to her lap, and moving the mouse to select what she wanted, she imputed a particular formula.

* * *

Victor had no clue when he fell asleep, or when Miss Brinks had entered his lab, but he awoke when he heard the light tapping of his keyboard. Stealthily looking up at the screen, he held in a gasp and mentally kicked him self in the ass. HARD. It was _right there_ the _entire_ time! How did he not see it!? The formula Rose had imputed into the genetic pattern had completed several days of sleepless nights.

"Oh, I'm sorry Dr. Niguel." Rose said. Victor didn't notice, but he must have been gawking at the screen. "Don't apologies." He said, waving her off. "How did you see that?!"

"Well, I was looking through some of your notes on the guilt outbreak and the mutations a week or so ago, and when I saw, it looked familiar." Rose said, meekly, actually blushing a vivid red, visible in the dark of his lab.

"It's not guilt, thank god, but it's similar." Dr. Niguel said, setting up and taking the keyboard. "I have an idea. Administer a low dose of the Neo-Guilt vaccine to a willing patient and see what happens. We may have found a treatment plan." Rose stood and picked up the blanket, which had fallen to the floor. "Alright." She said, tossing it on the couch. "You should get to sleep. One fatigued Doctor is enough to handle. You get downright crabby." With that playful parting shot, Rose left the lab, leaving Victor alone with his thoughts.

* * *

"What happened?" She asked, realizing she was in the hospital. Rose ran her hand in Angie's hair, smoothing it out. "You contracted something, we don't know what it is yet, but you've been comatose for four days now. Dr. Niguel figured out the basic structure of this thing was like...." Rose stopped. Letting out a heaving sigh, she continued. "Like GUILT. It's not, so far we know, and he suggested we try using the Neo-guilt vaccine on a willing volunteer. I have a confession to make, Angie..." Rose felt like she betrayed Angie on some level, and found the words hard to say. "I knew you would have volunteered, not wanting to put other patients at risk, so..."

"So you used me as a gunie-pig." She finished. Rose looked heartbroken. "Yea." She said. "I'm sorry Angie." Angie smiled a little. "Don't be. Your right, I would have. It's nice to know you've got me so figured out." Rose managed a small, wan smile. "It was only a small dose, to see what would happen. Your temperature has dropped to 97 degrees, and you've woken up, so that's a good ting, but lets not let our guards down. At least Derek can sleep soundly now, knowing you not in the red anymore."

"Derek?" Angie asked, finally noticing the unshaven, disheveled doctor, asleep in the corner. "How long has he-?" Rose let out a small laugh. "He's hardly left you side since you came. He's been an absolute wreck, too." She said. "Now, why don't we get you washed up and get something small in your stomach? I'll have Dr. Chase drag Derek out to get him taken care of too." This time, the humor in Rose's voice reflected on her entire face.

"Where am I?" Angie muttered, looking up at the ceiling. Rose let out a small sigh of relief. They all knew that Angie would have volunteered to play gunie-pig in a heartbeat. Not telling Derek what she had injected Angie with, Rose was delighted to see Dr. Niguel's idea pan out. Dr. Stiles was still asleep in the corner, a blanket draped over his still form. Rose looked back to Angie, who tried to sit up. "No, Angie." Said Rose, lightly pressing Angie back down. "Not yet."


End file.
